Bilbao, Spain (May 2025)
In May 2025 as part of our seven-week spring European adventure, we spent two full days (and three nights) in Bilbao, Spain and fell in love with this beautiful and international city. The European adventure was built around the moment we were able to experience the Guggenheim Museum. Terri is obsessed with Frank Gehry architecture and is not-so-secretly planning on hitting bingo on an international bingo card of his buildings (there are currently 10 on the list and so far we’ve seen or been to two including The Dancing House in Prague which we visited in October 2024).
Come along with us as we share our Bilbao Adventure with you.
Watch Our Bilbao Adventure
We packed a lot into our 3 nights and 2 days in Bilbao and recommend that you enjoy Bilbao through our eyes in our Bilbao, Spain video. As you might imagine, we weren’t there long enough to see and experience everything so we are definitely going back!
👉 Watch the video here
Night One Priority: Dinner
We encountered some serious rain as we drove to Bilbao from San Sebastián (you can watch our San Sebastián video here) and after checking in, made dinner our first priority. Our youngest was still traveling with us and we needed a place with vegetarian and/or fish options. All of us were tired and a little bit cranky and we lucked into Demaio, a fantastic Italian place right across the street from our hotel, Mercure Bilbao Jardines de Albia, which was perfectly located in the heart of the city, within easy walking distance to the Guggenheim and so much more.
After a delicious dinner (and some very competitve Monopoly Deal) at the Demaio, we walked along the Paseo de Uribitart promenade along the Nervion River and across the Zubizuri Bridge . This pedestrian bridge, designed by Santiago Calatrava, is stunning and we appreciated the mix of neighborhood architecture as we walked back to the hotel for an early night. We felt very safe here.
Day Two Priorities: Guggenheim, Old Town
After breakfast at the hotel, we walked back along the Paseo de Uribitart promenade toward the Guggenheim for our 10 AM reservation, stopping to appreciate the Arcos Rojos (Red Arches) sculpture by Daniel Buren on La Salve Bridge before walking towards Jeff Koon’s Puppy who sits outside, keeping watch as every good dog does.
The Guggenheim Bilbao ($42 for three of us) by far exceeded our expectations. While the exterior is incredible, the interior is just as impressive. Terri was near tears as we walked into the massive entryway and enjoyed the multi-story pieces of art before slowly making our way into the massive room with Richard Serra’s two sculptures, The Matter of Time and The Snake. We walked through each of the rooms with our visit culminating with the Helen Frankethaler (and friends) special exhibit which provided us with a glimpse into more than the colorful art we know her for.
We were delighted to find one of Louise Bourgeois’ Maman spiders outside the museum. We first learned of her and her spiders at the National Gallery Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC (see her here) and recently saw a very special one in Napa at Donum Estate (video coming soon!).
Sustenance was required before we made our way to Old Town so we enjoyed a snack in the Guggenheim cafe, with coffee for Zeke (of course).
The tram was conveniently located adjacent to the museum so after taking a few final pictures of the exterior of the Guggenheim, we got on a tram to Old Town, crossing the Nervion along the way. We love European public transportation and this met our now-high expectations. It was clean, reliable, and we enjoyed seeing more of the city as we made our way to Old Town.
In Old Town, one of the first places we walked by was an open fish market, operated solely by women, something we haven’t seen in our European travels.
We walked the cobblestone streets of Casco Viejo (Old Town) with our first stop at Basilica Catedral de Santiago (Bilbao Cathedral). The audioguide was informative and well worth the $32 for the three of us (with entry fee). The interior is beautiful, and we were surprised to find it had cloisters, not something we generally see in a parish church like this. Terri loves a good cloister.
We had Indian food for lunch (we know, still no Spanish or Basque food in Bilbao!) at a place not worth mentioning before we walked back to the hotel. On our way, we made an unplanned stop at the absolutely gorgeous BIblioteca Central that Zeke saw on the map. We think it was ok to walk into the various rooms and up the marble staircase. If not, don’t tell anyone we did it!
We made a quick stop at Decathalon for a duffel bag to carry a few items we’d purchased for the canal trip that didn’t fit into our small, carry-on suitcases. Note to selves: don’t do this again...this was a nightmare on the trains and metros from Bordeaux to Zurich. (Epic Travel Day video)
After a siesta in the room and some work, we decided we only had enough energy for dinner at Demaio. They don’t take reservations and we got in line shortly before 8 PM when they opened and we were so relieved that we made it in the first wave of customers. It was a popular spot and for good reason.
Day Three Priorities: Plaza de Don Federico Moyúa, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Basilica de Begoña, Funicular de Artxanda
After our incredible experience living and working in Bordeaux for a month, we thought Bilbao might be a good city for our next month-long live/work experience. We set out not just to see the top sights on our list, but to explore various neighborhoods to find suitable ones for us. An ambitious agenda for sure!
Zeke looked at the map and identified Plaza de Don Federico Moyúa as a good place to start. It seemed to be central to a lot of what would be interesting to us. After a brief look around the plaza that is in the center of a very large roundabout, we continued our neighborhood explorations.
We had trouble deciding which street to take off the plaza as there were about six. We opted for a street that would take us toward Parque Doña Casilda Iturrizar and Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. One of our requirements is to be close to a large green space or park. We walked through the park on our way to the art museum, appreciating the rolling hills, but not walking all the way through it.
Zeke was thrilled to find the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao was partially closed which meant it would be a quick one to go through. Bonus: there was no entry fee for us. The building is beautiful and Terri looks forward to going back to see more of their permanent collection once the renovations are complete.
After the museum we found a local lunch spot that was also not worth mentioning before making our way back to the hotel, only after stopping at another church, Iglesia de San José de la Montaña. This church, designed by the Basque architect José María de Basterra was not overly ostentatious. Built in the early 1900’s, the vaulted ceilings are three stories high, with light colored walls and accents, and pretty stained glass windows, very much unlike some of the other churches we’d seen that were much darker on the interior.
There were some interesting bronze rock-like sculptures by Basque artist Vicente Larrea outside the church at the corners of the plaza that were designed to pay tribute to the city's architects and engineers (installed between 2003 and 2005). We love to see all kinds of street art from sculptures like this to murals and everything in between. There was some really interesting art on the Paseo de Uribitart promenade.
After catching up on some work and taking a brief siesta, Terri convinced Zeke and our youngest that we could see a few more things before the night ended. We all had very low energy packs at this point.
As we walked to the bus to take us up the hill to Basilica de Begoña, we walked through Iglesia de San Vicente de Abando which was right around the corner from our hotel. It’s a pretty but ostentatious neighborhood church.
We got on the wrong bus (thanks, Zeke!) heading away from our destination, Basilica de Begoña, but our kid (a public transit wizard) came to the rescue and found us the right bus. At this point we’d seen enough and decided that Bilbao may not be the best place for us to spend a month next year.
The Basilica de Begoña, is on the Camino so we were able to take a few steps along yet another one of the Camino routes. At this point we’d lost track of all the places we visited on the various Camino routes in France and Spain and it’s the closest thing Terri will get to actually walking the Camino. She chases after tennis balls and art museums and is not much of a hiker.
A pre-service was going on in the Basilica de Begoña, so we walked around the church before standing in the back to appreciate the interior at a respectful distance. We were getting hungry and wanted to take the Funicular de Artxanda to the top of Monte Artxanda to end our time in Bilbao with a view of the city and maybe sunset.
There were taxis conveniently located outside the church and we zipped right back down the hill toward the river and the base of the funicular. It was Friday night, and there were families and friends enjoying the lovely weather in the plaza which was lovely to see. Kids were running around, playing soccer, riding scooters, and generally enjoying some freedom as the parents enjoyed some wine and snacks with friends.
We picked up some provisions at one of the local markets before paying the $17 for the three of us to take the five minute ride up to the top. The weather wasn’t fully cooperating and visibility was poor, but it was a great way to end our day and get a sense of the layout of the city. We enjoyed our snacks, people watched, and took our last pics of the city from above before heading back down the hill for the short walk back across the river and to our hotel.
Our dinner was really random…sandwiches, veggies, and chocolate mousse from the local market. Not the best way to end our time with our youngest after spending the previous two weeks together on the canal trip, through the Hautes-Pyrenees, in San Sebastian, and finally in Bilbao. But sometimes travel meals are just the necessities, not glamorous.
Day Four Priority: Breakfast, Packing, Drive to Bordeaux via Bayonne
We had an early start to get our youngest to the train by 10 in Bayonne so after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we packed up the car and got on the road, paying toll after toll along the way. So many tolls! We said goodbye to our kid in Bayonne and on we went to Bordeaux. More on that in our Epic Travel Day video.
Plan Your Own Bilbao Adventure
We really did love Bilbao and highly recommend a visit, at least once. Make it fun and low-stress with our Bilbao Travel Bingo Card which has a mix of must-sees and local finds to guide your wanderings.
👉 Get your Bilbao Travel Bingo Card here
Our Itinerary
Day one: arrival at hotel (Mercure Bilbao Jardines de Albia) around 5 PM, check in and quick rest and work in the room, dinner at Demaio, quick wander along the Nervion River and across the Zubizuri Bridge
Day two: breakfast at the hotel, walk to the Guggenheim, tram to Old Town, Basilica Catedral de Santiago (Bilbao Cathedral), lunch, Bilbioteca Central, shopping at Decathalon, siesta, dinner at Demaio, work in the room
Day three: breakfast at the hotel, work in the room (including postcards from the road!), walk to Plaza de Don Federico Moyúa, Parque Doña Casilda Iturrizar, and Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, lunch, Iglesia de San José de la Montaña, siesta and work in the room, Iglesia de San Vicente de Abando, bus to Basilica de Begoña, taxi to Funicular de Artxanda, picked up snacks, enjoyed the views from the top of Monte Artxanda, walked back to the hotel via the Zubizuri Bridge, dinner in the room (from the grocery store)
Day four: early morning with breakfast in the hotel, drive Bordeaux for the train ride to Paris and then Zurich for the last leg of our trip (Epic Travel Day video), dropped our kid off in Bayonne along the way
Watch our Bilbao Adventure
Words can’t quite capture the beauty of much of what we saw in Bilbao so we created a video where we take you along on our Bilbao adventure. Enjoy!
👉 Watch the video here
